


Escape

by Baneismydragon



Series: Tumblr drabbles and oneshots [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Marichat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 19:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10315826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baneismydragon/pseuds/Baneismydragon
Summary: It rarely works to run from your problems, but sometimes running can take you exactly where you need to be.(Marichat friendship fic)(Cross posted on tumblr. Part of my tumblr collection)





	

Adrien was running.

He didn’t care that it was still light out, the first shades of twilight just brushing on the edges of the Paris skyline, and that there were still crowds of people wandering the streets going about their lives. He ignored the strange looks and concerned glances he knew followed him as one of Paris’ beloved superheroes dashed off to what they must assume was some new unknown danger. He needed to escape. He needed to be away from the empty house with its echoing corridors and sterile grandeur.   Away from the oppressive weight of unused furniture and wasted luxury.

He pushed harder, reveling in the reckless speed and power granted by his transformation and he desperately tried to outrun his misery, further, further- until maybe he couldn’t feel the ache of loss and loneliness that seemed to crawl over his skin and worm its way into every fiber of his existence.

His father had fled, disappearing in the earlier hours of the day to another continent without a single word or explanation, leaving Nathalie with the task of informing his son that he must be “ _called off on important business_ ”, but will be “ _back in due time_ ”.

If his father was allowed to run away than so was he.

He dashed across the rooftops, setting a direction towards the empty school. He knew that he didn’t have too much time on this transformation. There had already been a particularly taxing akuma attack that morning, and he hadn’t had a chance to feed Plagg more than a few pieces of smuggled cheese during the rest of the school day. The building would be empty by now and it was an easy enough place to sneak into and hide even after he had lost the comforting guise of his alter ego. Besides, anywhere was better than home today.

He landed easily on the school roof and scampered down into the central courtyard, thinking that perhaps he would make his way over to the gym to detransform. Maybe try to distract himself with some fencing practice. He had just taken his first steps in that direction when he heard a small gasp and the light thud of book from somewhere on his left.

He turned, instantly on alert, and was met with a pair of started blue eyes.

“Chat! What are you doing here?” Marinette asked surprised. Her shock almost instantly melted into a deep furrow of concern as she scanned her surroundings, a small pile of notebooks forgotten at her feet. “Is it another attack? Where is…”

“No! No, its nothing like that!” Adrien quickly interrupted taking a few steps in her direction. The hard tension in his body eased slightly as he felt a sudden burst of admiration for this slight, shy girl, who in this moment looked ready to meet whatever new challenge she imagined must have summoned him here. Her stance relaxed and he saw her fix her gaze quizzically back to him, searching for an explanation to his odd arrival.

Adrien opened his mouth slightly, trying desperately to come up with some sort of clever quip or flirtation to justify himself to the girl staring at him from a few feet away, but found that he couldn’t form any clear thoughts. His throat constricted as the memories and feelings that had driven him here in the first place once again drove themselves into the forefront of his mind. He choked on soft meaningless sounds, and felt heat and shame ignite his skin. His cheeks burned hotter still as he watched the subtle flicker of emotions dancing across Marinettes eyes- confusion, to amusement, to understanding, each feeling exposed to him even though they lasted but an instant- until finally softening to genuine concern.

He half turned dropping his eyes to the ground and snapped his jaw closed, unconsciously pawing at the ground with his foot. He felt raw, exposed. The normal bravado that accompanied his alternate identity seemed to have fled, and a small desperate corner of his mind wondered if she would recognize him. If this animated, clever girl who so easily teased and smiled with him the few times she had interacted with him as Chat Noir, could see through the mask that suddenly felt transparent. That she would see the bland, repressed boy who sat in front of her each day, and who had never seemed to merit more than the occasional greeting or polite non-committal answer from her.

They were friends of sorts, he and Marinette. Or at least friends of friends. She had never been unkind or dismissive of him, and they had even spent a few pleasant afternoons together when circumstances had intervened. However, his interactions with her had always carried an aura of discomfort. There was an awkward edge to the way she carried herself, and a tension and reserve that she had never show around Alya or Nino, or her other school friends.  It stung a little, but Adrien had never wanted to push. He probably just wasn’t her type.

“I forgot my notebooks.”

He started, her voice breaking through the clouded daze of his thoughts and he flushed again. How absurd that his thinking about her had briefly made him forget that she was literally standing right over there. He could hear Marinette taking a few tentative steps in his direction, closer, but still not enough to intrude into his space. He resisted the urge to shiver at the awareness and didn’t move.

“It was so stupid really! Its not like I wasn’t rattling on to Alya about how much I needed to study for this exam AS I WAS LEAVING! And yet still I managed to leave them all right on my desk!”

Adrien could hear the light forced quality of her cheerful tone and self-deprecating laugh. The corner of his eyes catching an awkward flailing of arms and she articulated her words, trying to coax him out of his silence. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, desperately trying to regain any sense of composure. In, Out. Be Normal. Be Chat Noir. Be anyone else.

“And it really didn’t help that Alya just ran off as soon as class was dismissed.” Marinette pressed on. “Honestly I don’t have any idea what is going on with her lately. I mean I know she has to constantly update her blog but she is never around anymore so I find myself constantly trying to catch up to her! Yet whenever I try to ask her about it she always just changes the subject and brushes it off”

“I am sure there is a PUR-fectly good explaination” Adrien winced inwardly, it was not one of his better efforts but at least he had finally managed to get a sentence out.  

Her smile dropped and he watched her face screw up in concentration.

“Chat what’s wrong?” She cocked her head to the side and stared at him, waiting for his answer.

“I don’t know what you are talking about Princess.”

She walked forward to him the rest of the way. “Please talk to me.”

“I’m fine.” He said, fixing on his best model smile.

She didn’t say anything, instead she simply reached forward and pulled him into her arms.

“It’s alright to not be fine you know.”

His resolve shattered and he slumped against her, his breath coming out in heaving gasps as he struggled not to sob into her hair. Not to collapse under the weight of his loss and his misery.

It had been exactly one year.

“It’s ok. It’s alright kitty,” she whispered soothingly, “I’m here.”

“Don’t leave me.” He whispered, tightening his grip on her as if she was the only thing keeping him tethered to this world. “Everyone leaves me.”

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

They stood in the empty courtyard clinging to each other, the whispered sounds of gentle comforts and haggard breathing lost in the wind, as the sky darkened to night.

 

 


End file.
